Review

"'Lively and well-written, this book provides a convenient introduction to historiography and the need to take account of it that students will feel comfortable with and relate to quite readily. The text works well partly because it never strays far from concrete examples which connect any generalisations to more accessible specifics.' Professor Roger Richardson, the University of Winchester. 'This book is a very useful introduction to historiography, dealing with basic questions of historiography and historical theory in a lucid way. It will be helpful to A level students, first year undergraduates and the increasing number of students studying history in languages departments with no history background. I would certainly recommend this book to my students.' Professor Stefan Berger, University of Manchester"

Product Description

Historiography can be a rather daunting term for those not familiar with it. Historiography: An Introduction presents the key ideas that define it, in a clear and accessible fashion. The opening chapters introduce the reader to the defining practices that characterize the subject, and the Essay chapter relates those practices to the work of student historians. The purpose of these chapters is to make students aware of the conventions that govern the subject and the reasons for them, and this section can also be read with profit by non-specialists who wish to enhance their understanding of historical texts, and how they work. The final three chapters address three very different areas of historical investigation, the History of Nazism; Gender History; and Cultural History. These chapters seek to demonstrate that the historiographies bodies of interpretation of these sub-disciplines, and indeed of history in general, grow, develop and change in response to changes within society at large. As the conclusion makes clear, the authors believe that History is not simply an academic subject, but an active and contested factor shaping the nature of the societies we live in. As politicians, in particular, seek to validate their actions by drawing parallels between the past and present, an ability to subject claims to close scrutiny testing their logic and coherence, assessing the evidence used to support them becomes not simply a valuable academic skill, but a vital requirement for active citizenship.

1. Introduction: history and historiography; 2. Academic history; 3. Engaging with historiography; 4. The essay and historiography; 5. Gender and history; 6. Historiography and the Nazis; 7. Cultural history and Marxism; 8. Conclusion; Index.

Christopher Parker was formerly Professor of History at Edge Hill University